Trulaske Business Academy brings high school students to Mizzou

Twenty-five students from rural Missouri to Chicago came together in Cornell Hall this summer to learn about studying business, to meet new friends and to get to know Mizzou. The Trulaske Business Academy, started in 2008 as part of the Trulaske College of Business Diversity & Inclusion initiative, introduces high-achieving students from under-represented minority groups to business through workshops, guest speakers and networking events.

For nearly a week, students reside on campus in dorms and dine in Mizzou’s dining halls to experience campus life. Professors in each of the Trulaske College of Business academic departments – accountancy, finance, management and marketing – host information sessions with the students to introduce them to their respective fields.

Each day, students also participated in an icebreaker to get to know one another, including the favorite “My friends and I like to…” which had students talking about Tweeting, shopping, reading, and playing sports. In the evening, students joined their counselors for fun events around Columbia such as bowling and time at the Craft Studio. Their social events closed with an Etiquette Dinner with Alex Hopkins, a certified club manager, who taught students table etiquette for business functions at the Country Club of Missouri.

“We organized the Academy to strike a balance between academic study and time to bond with new friends, which we feel is what college life is really like for the first year,” said Aaron Cook, coordinator of recruitment and retention for the Trulaske College of Business.

Students cite the networking activities and the friendships they’ve built as their favorite parts. Jewel Perkins, a senior from Blue Springs, Missouri was surprised at how quickly the group bonded. “My favorite thing about the Academy is how fast we’ve gotten close in such a short time,” she said.

The theme that tied the Academy together was leadership and teamwork. Joan Gabel, Dean of the Trulaske College of Business, shared her insights on leadership at the Academy’s closing ceremony, and students were asked to work on multiple projects as teams. The week’s highlight was a live case, presented by the Heart of Missouri United Way, seeking the students’ insights into connecting with young people. Student teams took the case and then presented concepts to the United Way.

“Our new partner, Heart of Missouri United Way, has offered our students a great way to experience what a business education includes. Our students take cases and then strategize solutions for those businesses and organizations. It’s an excellent way for high school students to learn firsthand how we prepare our college students for their careers,” said Daryl Smith, assistant teaching professor of management and director of diversity and inclusion at the Trulaske College of Business.

“Most of us are hoping to study business in college,” reflected Kareem Medlock, a senior from Chicago. “It was great to be on campus and get to know Mizzou. I could see myself here.”